Our community is for young autistic and similarly neurodivergent adults without intellectual (learning) disability: able to live and work independently, how we choose, with varying degrees of support.
As we do not have learning disabilities, there aren’t any dedicated support services or spaces designed for us, but we do still need them, so we’re building our own.
We think that many autistic young adults like us would do better with a dedicated autistic-led, autistic-majority space. We ran a small survey in 2023, and the majority of respondents agreed.
Our upper age-limit for members is 30 years old. We feel this better reflects “stage not age” as not everyone has the privilege of following conventional societal milestones. Or chooses to.
“I take a space in it and make it mine. It feels safe to pour myself into and know I will be supported.”
Our Youth Hub is digital-first for many reasons, many around accessibility and inclusion. Online community is important to those of us with sensory sensitivities, processing delays or who prefer to communicate digitally.
An autistic-majority space that is physical-first has structural limitations in capacity and member numbers. This can often mean that “being autistic” is the only thing we have in common: that is not good enough.
In a larger online community, still centred around a local geographical area, you have a better chance of connecting with someone who’s autistic AND likes the things that you do, building lasting friendships to take into the real world.
We do still enjoy meeting up in person but having our main community space online means we can join in as much or as little as we choose, but not miss out.